Chiropractic Treatment For Tension Headaches

At the end of the work day, you often go home with a headache. This could be the result of tension in your neck or upper back caused by the type of work you do. You can treat these headaches with an over-the-counter pain medication, but you're only getting temporary relief. A visit with your chiropractor will relieve the pain and help to prevent future occurrences. Here is how your local chiropractor can help you with those tensions headaches.

What Causes Your Pain

Working with your neck and back in the same position for prolonged periods puts stress on the muscles. As your muscles become tired, they contract and become tense. This reduces the blood flow through the muscles and can cause inflammation. This will irritate the nerves that travel through those muscles up into your head. The irritation causes the headaches you experience after hours on the job.

Treatment for Your Headaches

The goal of the chiropractic treatment is to:

• reduce the muscle tension
• increase the circulation of blood through the muscles
• decrease the inflammation in and around the muscles
• remove the pressure on the nerves that is causing your headaches

Chiropractors employ several non-invasive techniques to accomplish this. They are done on an outpatient basis in the chiropractor's office. You can return to your normal daily activities immediately after treatment so you could stop at a chiropractic on your way home from your job.

Treatment Techniques

Active Release Technique - The chiropractor feels for the tense muscles in your upper back and neck. When the tense muscles are found, the doctor massages the muscle fibers in the their normal direction of movement. This gradually relaxes the tense muscles to their normal length.

Myofascial Release Technique - Muscle groups may become so tense that they form a knot under the skin. You can experience muscle spasms from these tense muscles. When the chiropractor detects these muscles, steady pressure is placed on them using the knuckles or a special tool. The pressure causes the muscles to relax and the spasms to go away.

Physical Therapy - The chiropractor may also recommend a series of physical therapy sessions. These not only relax the muscles in your upper neck and back, but will increase the strength of those muscle groups. Stronger muscles can better tolerate the stress placed on them at your job so future headaches can be avoided.

For more on physical therapy, contact a business such as Cardinal Hill Rehabilitation Hospital. 

Spinal Manipulation - Your chiropractor will look for signs that the first two vertebrae on your spine have become misaligned due to the muscle tension. Called a subluxation, this condition can put pressure on the nerves traveling along the spinal column. Spinal manipulation restores the alignment of those vertebrae and reduces the pressure on the nerves that can cause your headaches.